Music Stories
Too many words? Darnielle has a lot to sayThe Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed The Mountain Goats are the new indie-rock hip shoe of choice. Reason #1: WTJU's (91.1) recent rock marathon featured one two-hour block of the group's...read more Mar 4th, 2004
Useless art: "Quack" disappoints in personDjTRIO featuring Christian Marclayat the Jefferson TheaterFebruary 17  Sometime around 1920, Ukranian cubist painter Kasimir Malevich decided that the essence of visual art lay in what was...read more Feb 26th, 2004
Surprise! New Walkmen disc exceeds expectationsThe Walkmen: Bows + Arrows  I didn't get the garage/indie-rock group The Walkmen's latest release, Bows + Arrows, when I first got hold of it. I had enjoyed their 2002 release, Everyone Who...read more Feb 26th, 2004
Local showcase: Bucks, Gallants, and Folks...Folkskonde and Bucks and Gallantsat Plan 9's Outer SpaceSunday, February 15  This year's WTJU (91.1) Rock Marathon– that all too brief week where the daytime opera and banjo playing...read more Feb 19th, 2004
Mouse or Beatle?: Listen, then you decideDJ Danger Mouse:The Grey Album  What do you get when you cross the greatest rock band in history with the greatest hip-hop artist in history? We now know the answer. Let me explain....read more Feb 19th, 2004
People's choice: Escape the everyday grindFolkskunde  Some days you just don't feel like going to work. You wake up in the morning, and maybe for no particular reason at all, you just can't find the strength to head out into the world...read more Feb 12th, 2004
Memo to The Darkness: Consider vocal downsizingThe DarknessPermission to Land  I think I summed up my feelings on the Darkness late one night a month ago, reclining in my spacious king-size bed, at the end of a long conversation about life,...read more Feb 12th, 2004
Don't be scared: Outback acts worth the riskSAKE, Adelyn, T.O.W.at the Outback LodgeThursday, January 29 A few days ago, just around the corner from my house in front of the Outback Lodge, a 15-year old girl stabbed two women. In another...read more Feb 5th, 2004
Strange and beautiful: Visiting bands leave markEl Guapo, The Unicorns at UVA's Fest Full of RockJanuary 31 Through my countless hours of reviewing bands, the late nights, the bored smoking, the constant skating on the edge of the sober/drunk...read more Feb 5th, 2004
PERFORMANCE REVIEW- Fun, fun, fun: Mamet brings on the laughsIf a foul-mouthed Chicago tough can remake himself as a rapier wit, there's no reason why a wisecracking crayon can't hit the stage as a love-struck hysteric. Let me explain. Playwright David Mamet,...read more Feb 5th, 2004
Stiff competition: Tough town for new bandStoned Stew Jazz Bandat Miller'sSaturday, January 24 They say that being cold is all in your mind. Well, my brain has been cold for going on two weeks now. The fluid between my brain and skull is...read more Jan 29th, 2004
Three for three: Local women in the roundJan Smith, Joia Wood, and Terri Allardat Gravity Lounge January 24 If you were looking for the ladies last Saturday night, probably the easiest way to see them (apart from that secret topless bar at...read more Jan 29th, 2004
Jam (ugh): Bending the Rule a littleRule of Thumpat OrbitJanuary 17 I'm a big believer in the philosophy of trying to learn something new every day, and sitting at a table last Saturday night at Orbit, I learned two things: 1) "Watch...read more Jan 22nd, 2004
Travelin': From ecstasy to outer spaceEMDUBat Michael's BistroJanuary 14 Wrinkle Neck Muleat Starr HillJanuary 18  Artwork unevenly placed on the walls. Partially remodeled bathroom. A rear view of the band through glass doors...read more Jan 22nd, 2004
Courtly country : Local boys pack 'em inKing Wilkie at Miller'sJanuary 11 I arrived at Miller's Saturday night about an hour before the bluegrass band King Wilkie was scheduled to perform, and quite literally just barely snagged myself a...read more Jan 15th, 2004
Don't skip it: Remix adds to originalSoulive: Turn It Out Remixed  (Blue Note) Only a very few live shows have had a meaningful impact on my life. I can count on one hand the ones I've seen in Charlottesville. One group who...read more Jan 15th, 2004
Getting lucky: Two locals scheme for fameSC on the Boombox 91.9 WNRN January 3, 2004 If talent were the deciding factor in who became the next radio mega star, I probably would listen to the radio more often. It takes more than talent. It...read more Jan 8th, 2004
2003's best: I'll take it on the ShinsI'm a dork, a dweeb, a nerd, sorely in need of a dose of cool, but fairly happy with my profound love of the unhip, the lame, the unvarnished side of life. Yeah, I like pop music. A lot. The indie-...read more Jan 8th, 2004
Poetry virgin: But musical pros save the night  Poetry Lounge and Folkskonde At the Live Arts UpstageDecember 16 Like clasping an ex-whatever to your chest, poetry and I have always been locked in a nervous embrace. I'm a poetry virgin:...read more Dec 25th, 2003
Reinvention: New "rugged" Badu abandons poeticsErykah BaduWorld Wide Underground Motown (2003) In 1997 when Erykah Badu released her first album, Baduizm, there was quite a bit of debate about the state of soul and R&B music. Many...read more Dec 25th, 2003